


Promise Me

by Quantumcats



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Deathfic, Fluff, Gen, I swear, I'm sorry I'm a slut for deathfics, Just read it the fluff is in there, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Zero smut, intense friendship, joshler - Freeform, soulcrushing pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-23 00:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7459135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quantumcats/pseuds/Quantumcats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh and Tyler are headed home on a stormy night. The road gets a little tough to see. Maybe they should pull over before they get hurt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise Me

Tyler woke with a start to the sound of thunder. Rain ran down his window in waterfalls of white noise. His heart raced as he got his bearings, sitting up against the wall.  
Lightning lit the room. It was a mess - photos, papers, broken things - strew across the floor haphazardly. Tyler had finally fallen asleep around 1 AM, after two full nights of no sleep at all. He checked the clock. It had only been two hours.  
Tyler tipped his head back against the wall, staring at the dark ceiling, watching the shadows dance when lightning flashed. He pulled up his knees and closed his eyes. He could still see the bright flashes through them, and thought it better to just stare into the darkness of his room.  
Another flicker of light cut through the dark. He could make out his doorway, his dresser, the mess on the flor. Another flash. He saw his closet door, his lightswitch. All things he had stared blankly at in daylight, too.  
He didn't want to remember, didn't want to keep replaying the whole scene in his head, but that didn't seem to be an option.

 

ONE WEEK AGO

Josh sang along with Tyler to the radio on their way back from seeing some hometown friends. The windshield wipers fought the downpour they were in, struggling to keep up. A bolt of lightning not far from the road stopped their voices.  
"Dude, maybe we should pull over and wait this out. It's getting pretty bad." Josh suggested.  
"No man, we're almost there. It's fine." Tyler replied, but the road was tough to see, he had to admit. But it was one mile back to Tyler's street, why stop?  
Another bolt. Tyler thought twice.  
"Alright, fine, we can pull over and wait it o-" Yet another bolt caught him offguard, but this one wasn't even 50 feet ahead, slicing down into a tree beside the road. Tyler tried to stop, but the wheels only slipped in the rain.  
"HOLD ON!" He screamed to Josh, trying to regain control in time. But the tree crashed to the ground, and there was nothing he could do.

The sound of crushing metal and snapping branches filled the air around them in a rush. The glass of the windshield gave way to the boughs of the fallen tree, rain pouring in from the new openings in the car frame. And when the car finally stopped, when everything settled, all Tyler could smell was blood. He wasn't sure what was hurt, what was broken - he just knew they needed help. He dialed 911 on his barely-working phone, and managed to form enough words to get help. The last thing he could remember was looking to Josh, and raggedly screaming his best friend's name in the dark.

Tyler woke up in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and monitors all around him. His mother stood up as soon as she saw his eyes open. "Thank God, Tyler, thank God...he's awake!" She rushed to his bedside and kissed his forehead as the nurses came in, the rest of Tyler's family close behind.  
The nurses began checking all of his vitals, fussing over the monitors, and asking Tyler basic questions. Once they were done, his mom came back to his bedside.  
"Mom? What happened?" He asked.  
"There was an...accident." She answered, eyes welling. "You were really hurt, it was touch and go for most of the night..." A tear rolled down her cheek.  
Tyler's memory was spotty, but he remembered he wasn't alone. "Where's Josh? Is he okay?"  
His mother was silent, and choked back a sob. She fought more tears as she tried to find words. "Tyler, Josh...he..."  
"Mom, where is Josh? Mom!"  
"He...I'm so sorry Tyler, he..." She heard Tyler's heartbeat monitor quicken. "He didn't make it."

Tyler winced as he tried to sit up and get out of the bed. His mom held him back, crying with him. He started to scream, voice cracked with sobs and pain. She held on the him as he futilely called out for his best friend. When his vocal cords couldn't take it anymore, he collapsed into tears. He shook violently and held onto his mother as if she were the only real thing in his life in that moment. A nurse rushed in, prepared to administer a sedative, but she assured her that he'd be okay for now. That the screaming was over.  
"Mom, no, mom why did he, and I'm..." He incoherently rambled.  
"He was hurt so badly, honey. There was nothing they could do." She breathed, trying to collect herself enough to keep speaking. "The tree branch went right through his chest...I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry, Ty."

Tyler began calling out once more, hoping this was some cruel joke. But Josh never came. Only a nurse with more sedatives.

 

Tyler dreamed of Josh that night. And nearly every night after. Sometimes he wished he wouldn't wake up from it.

But in every dream, Josh always told him to carry on. He always told him everything would be okay. Some days, that's all that kept him going.

 

Tonight, another storm raged outside his window, just like the one that took his best friend away from him. He hurt twice as much on this particular night.  
"Why didn't you take me, too? Why did you take him, and leave me?" He plead quietly. He rested his head on his knees. "Why? Why did you take him and not me?" His eyes burned as they brimmed with tears.

"Maybe he just likes me better." Came a voice, startling Tyler so suddenly that he hit his head on the wall. But when his vision cleared, he looked around him in the dark, heart racing.

Lightning cracked in the stormy sky, lighting his room for an instant. Tyler nearly screamed - there was someone in his room. He scrambled for the baseball bat under his bed. "What the hell are you doing in my house?!"

"Tyler, Tyler wait! It's me. It's me, Ty." The voice replied. Another flash lit the room.

"Josh?"

Tyler turned on the light beside him. Sure enough, his best friend appeared to be standing at the foot of his bed, alive as ever. Tyler lowered the bat.

"Okay I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming." He shook his head, trying to clear it. 

"Nope, not dreaming. Not this time at least. I finally figured it out." Josh said, as if this was all completely normal. He lifted his hand and looked at it, almost marveling at its existence.

"Okay...um..." Tyler wiped his face free of his tears. "Figured...what out?" He entertained.

"How to do the whole ghost thing. Sick, right?" He smiled.

"Ghost...okay, nope, must be dreaming." Tyler pinched his arm to confirm his theory. It hurt. "Okay, okay not dreaming." He paused. "Then how...what..."

"Okay, dude, let me explain. I've been able to hang out with you in your dreams, that's pretty easy stuff. Beginner level dead person stuff. The hard part is getting you to be able to see me when you're awake."

"Is this some kind of hallucination?" Tyler asked.

Josh approached him and held out his hand. "Do the handshake. Go on, do it."

Tyler hesitated, but then scooted forward to the edge of his bed. He put out his hand and expected it to go right through Josh's, but it didn't. They did the entire handshake. This wasn't a hallucination at all.

Tyler leapt out of bed and threw his arms around Josh's neck. "Josh, oh my god, Josh," he laughed through tears. "It's really you. It's really you. I missed you so much, man, oh my god, it's you."

Josh held onto his best friend with a smile. "I missed you, too, Ty."

Tyler's laughter grew quiet.

"I'm so sorry Josh. It was all my fault, I should've-"

"No, no, Tyler. I don't blame you at all. Please. It's alright. It was an accident. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't you." He pulled back to look Tyler in the eye. "Okay?" Tyler nodded slowly, reluctant.

"But...how are you even here?" Tyler asked.

"Like I said, ghost status." He took a step back and spun, seemingly quite proud of it. "It's pretty sick, dude."

"If you're a ghost, how did you...why don't you go right through me?" Tyler wondered.

"It's...tough to explain. It's selective. I dunno, man. It's just how it is."

The thunder rolled outside. The storm was moving out at last, the rain lighter, rumbles quieter. Tyler broke the silence between. "So, what then? Are you just gonna...haunt me from now on?" He said, with an unsure laugh.

Josh deflated. "Not exactly. I...I can't stay, Ty."

Tyler stepped back, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Why?"

Josh sat beside him, but Tyler wouldn't look up. "I wish I could. I'd stay with you forever, you know I would. But I can't stay here. I was allowed to visit you first, to...say goodbye." He winced as he heard Tyler fighting a sob. "Tyler, please, don't be upset. I got to see you one last time. I'm alright. And you will be too."

Tyler put his arms around Josh, leaning against him. "Please don't go, Josh. I can't do this alone."

"I have to. And you're not alone. I'll check in on you from time to time, make sure you're not doing anything stupid." He added with a laugh, rubbing small, comforting circles on Tyler's back.

"Do you have to leave right now?" Tyler asked quietly.

Josh thought for a moment. He could maybe bend the rules just a little. "I'll stay until you fall asleep, alright?"

Tyler sat up, wiping his tears. He nodded imperceptibly. "Alright." He laid back down, determined to stay awake, but feeling exhausted. Josh lay beside him, wrapping one arm around his best friend.

"We'll see each other again. Just no time soon, alright? You have so much ahead of you. Live your life, Tyler. Stay alive. And then you can tell me all about it someday, Okay?"

Tyler was losing his fight against sleep. "Okay." He mumbled.

"Promise?" Josh asked quietly.

"I promise..." Tyler couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

Josh stayed until sunrise, taking one last look at his best friend. He was actually sleeping peacefully. It pained him to leave, but he was glad for the time they had. He smiled, knowing they would be together again someday, and then faded away as the morning sunlight began to fill the room.

Tyler awoke soon after. He wasn't entirely sure if he'd dreamed of Josh, or if he really did see him. But something felt different this morning. Some part of him wasn't quite as dark. He knew, inexplicably, that he would be alright. He looked up, whispering two words as he smiled for the first time in a while.

"I promise."

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I could have come up with a better title oh wellll. I wrote this a while ago, after a few other death/coma joshler fics, because I guess I hate happiness. Pardon any errors, as I am unbeta'd, and please let me know what you think. I'm considering writing more Joshler, maybe more obvious relationship Joshler, so if ya'll like this one, let me know :) And no, not everything I write contains absolute pain. I SWEAR
> 
> Thanks!


End file.
